United States Department of Defence told congressional lawmakers in a memo that the high-altitude flying object shot down on Saturday by a US fighter jet in Canadian airspace was a "small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it," according to CNN.
Before it was grounded, the object reportedly traveled close to "US sensitive sites," the document stated.
The Pentagon's memo came as senators on Capitol Hill seek explanations as to why the US military detected three objects only after shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon last Saturday.
